The Specs
by ValandMarcelle
Summary: A self-proclaimed "happy little tale of friendship" with an unoriginal title. Or, what happens when Specs finds himself in need of new glasses.
1. Chapter 1

**Through the stressful and exhausting ****heck that is tech week/shows, I managed to accomplish something. Woohoo!**

**This is basically a little side two-or-three shot about a headcanon that I have regarding Specs and what happens when he needs a new pair of glasses. It's not going to be very long, and I just wanted to post something today because I haven't for a while. Anyway, this is just a happy little tale of friendship. Wow, how cheesy. **

**Enjoy!**

**-Marcelle**

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><p>There were several very obvious signs that Specs needed new glasses. First-and perhaps the most obvious-was that his usual clumsy tendencies increaded tenfold, no matter how hard be tried to hide it.<p>

He made his way through the lodging house that afternoon almost blindly, knocking straight into Racetrack with his limited perception.

"'Ey, Specs, watch where you're goin'!" Race cried indignantly as Spec stumbled away from him, pushing his glasses back up to the bridge of his nose.

"Sorry 'bout that, didn't see ya there," he muttered an apology, just before slamming into the ladder of the nearest bunk bed with a loud thump.

"Geez, what'd ya do that for?" Mush laughed from his place on the mattress above them, watching as their visually impaired friend turned a bright shade of red.

"Ya bums think I'd whack into a ladder on purpose?" Specs retorted with his mild form of malice, which only managed to produce even more laughter from the onlooking newsies.

"I dunno, Specs. You ain't always been all there, if ya know what I mean," Race finally teased, gesturing to Specs' head with the butt of his cigar and shrugging his shoulders. "Maybe the problem's your brain instead 'a your eyes, huh?"

"Aw, shut it," Specs murmured, his annoyance clearly peaking as he flopped onto his bed and proceeded to clean his glasses, scrubbing them so vigorously it seemed as though he was trying to make sand out of the glass.

"C'mon, you knows we'se just messin' with ya," Mush assured him, his slight apologetic tone drawing the other boy momentarily away from his task. "But you really oughta get a new pair of those things, Specs. You've had those ones forever."

"Yeah, well, I ain't had much time for shoppin' these days," Specs replied sarcastically with a roll of his eyes. "Plus I've mostly been focusin' on eating and staying alive instead 'a spending my money on seein' a little better."

"And there's your first mistake, my dear friend," Race drawled, sitting himself down on the bunk bed and slinging an arm around Specs' shoulder. "Food ain't gonna last ya nearly as long as a new pair 'a glasses will."

"Besides, if you ain't got your specs, then you can't be Specs no more, can ya?" Mush pointed out with a laugh as Specs shot him an almost weary glare.

"Look, guys, I'm fine. My glasses are fine. I can still read the headline, ain't that all that matters anyway?" he argued, not seeming to care either way when it came to his eyesight, but it was hard to miss the quiet sigh tacked on to the end of his words.

"Sure, buddy. Whatever floats your boat," Race relented, watching as Specs rose from his place and headed towards the door, adjusting his glasses almost absentmidedly as he left the room. The door swung shut behind him with a dull slam, and Race shook his head in disappointment.

"He's hopeless. We gotta get him a new pair of those things."

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><p><strong>Sorry this was so short, but the next chapter should be up very soon! I'm also still in the process of working on Walk Over Us, so that should be the next story to be updated. Don't forget to review, and I would love some promptssuggestions! Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**This took longer to write than I expected it to, but here it is! Only one more chapter left. :)**

**Enjoy!**

**-Marcelle**

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><p>"Alright, fellas, listen up! We gots an important matta ta discuss!" Crutchie called the newsies to order later that night, after yet another long day of hawking the headlines. Many of the boys haulted in their rough-housing on command to focus on the crippled boy, lending him their full attention for the time being.<p>

Jack and Race were considered first and second in command, but everyone always listened to Crutchie. It was quite arguable that he was the only reasonable one among them.

"What's it now? Are we finally kickin' out Elmer?" Buttons joked, and his insulted friend gave him a shove among the resulting laughter.

"Tempting, but not this time," Jack chuckled from his place beside Crutchie, his arms crossed loosely over his chest and an amused smile playing on his features. "It's been brought to our attention that one of our guys is havin' an issue that he ain't willin' to take care of himself."

"It's Specs, isn't it?" Romeo immediately piped up, sounding completely confident in his answer as Jack raised an eyebrow.

"How'd you guess that?"

"He's the only one that ain't here, Jack, it's pretty easy to figure out," Romeo replied with a shrug, glancing around the room to confirm his logic and seeming to come up short one bespectacled newsboy.

"Yeah, where is the Blind Wonder, anyway?" Mush questioned loudly from the back of room, and Crutchie flashed the mischevious grin that he was infamously known for around the lodging house.

"We sent 'im on an...uh...errand into Brooklyn. It should take him a while to get it done," he vaguely elaborated before glancing towards Jack, who nodded in affirmation.

"Which gives us just enough time ta do what we need to do," he declared. "As you'se all probably know, glasses ain't cheap."

"We ain't gonna steal 'em, are we?" Finch clarifed, although not seeming particularly against the idea. Jack shot him a look of exasperation, and Crutchie addressed the rest of the boy's mumurs of confusion.

"'Course we're not gonna steal them! We're all gonna buy Specs a new pair 'a, well, specs!" he concluded with a winning grin, only for his declaration to be met by a series of groans.

"Why do we gotta spend our money on him, huh?" Albert whined. "I almost got enough saved up for a new marble set!"

"Yeah, do we have to?" Jojo asked with a roll of his eyes. Crutchie frowned in disappointment, clearly having expected a much different reaction then the one he was getting.

"C'mon guys, don'tcha think it'd be nice ta...ta do something for him..." he stammered, in attempt to lend himself to the voice of reason, but his words were drowned out by the loud protests of the newsies.

He glanced towards Jack, seeming lost on what to do now that his grip on their attention had been lost, and the eldest among them nodded his head.

"Hey! Shut it!" a command rang out before Jack could even open his mouth, and all heads turned to see Race standing at the head of the crowd, his fists curled in a certain indignation as he surveyed the annoyed boys in front him. "Look at yourselves! You'se the most sorry bunch 'a ungrateful bums I've ever seen."

"Race, what-"

"Hang on, Jack, lemme do this," Race cut off his friend off before glaring at the rest of the newsies. He seemed determined to get something off his chest, and Jack took a step back, more than willing to let him.

Race always did have a particular fire inside of him, and the boys' attitude had clearly stirred his anger.

"Specs would do anythin' for you guys at the drop of a hat, and you all know it. He ain't had a new pair 'a glasses in who knows 'ow long, 'cause he's spending his hard-earned cash on us. Who d'ya think bought us those cans of soup last week, that you'se all shoved down your throats without even thinkin' of where they came from?"

"C'mon, Race, Specs never said it was him!" Henry argued in return, earning himself a sharp glare from the irritated elder newsie.

"And there's another thing! That guy don't want credit for nothin', even when he deserves it. He'd rather just please the rest of you'se, but clearly he's wastin' his time, 'cause you ain't makin' yourselves out to be worth the effort. If you don't want to do somethin' for him in return, then you'se is just as bad as the scabs."

Silence met the accusation, and the lodging house filled to the brim a heavy guilt that seemed to settle over the boys as they carefully avoided Race's eyes.

His words could almost be seen working their way into the collective conscience of the newsboys, but Race could only wait for a response.

"You're right, Race," Romeo was the first to speak up, the youngest newsie's voice tinged with shame as he continued to cast his gaze downward. The rest of the boys met the realization with scattered nods, and Jack cast Race an impressed glance.

He knew there was a reason Race was next in charge.

"Yeah, we oughta make it up to 'im," Albert agreed, and Race felt a satisfied smile pulling on his lips. Maybe he wasn't completely useless after all.

"I've got a quarter I've been savin'," Jojo offered cautiously, as though the Warth of Racetrack Higgins was still a genuine threat to him. He pulled the small coin out of his pocket to murmurs of agreement from the newsies, who began to voice their own contributions as well.

"Here'a a dime!"

"Hey, I have a dime, too!"

"Will three pennies help?"

"I've still got that nickel," Crutchied added with a half-smile as he handed the coin to Jack, who grinned in return. He clapped his hands together, sensing the general lift in group morale and determined to play it for all it was worth.

"Alright, now we're gettin' somewhere!" he cheered, exchanging a grin with Race.

Specs wouldn't know what hit him.

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><p><strong>I hope that met any expectations! I kind of wish the newsies wouldn't have been opposed to buying the glasses at first, but my heart of hearts told me they probably wouldn't have been thrilled about it. XD Good thing they have Race to set them straight! <strong>

**Hopefully Walk Over Us will be next, although I DO have a Hunger Games crossover that I kind of want to post, which I think is actually written better than this is...but I haven't decided if I should or not. Again, public opinion decides. Don't forget to review, and thanks for reading!**


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